West Warwick approves budget

Volunteers for the Board of Canvassers handed out ballots during the all-day referendum yesterday.
Jessica Boisclair. Kent County Daily Times.

WEST WARWICK—The 2013-2014 budget was approved by the taxpayers of West Warwick 771-526, a step that will allow for the town council to continue negotiating with the unions and retirees in order to fix the growing pension liability.

Out of the 18,976 registered voters in town, 1,298 people cast their ballots at the all-day referendum held in the foyer of West Warwick High School—more than double from last year’s 499-person turnout.

The budget, which had been reworked multiple times during the previous months, totals $83,046,288.

Approximately half of that amount—$50.3 million—will be used to fund the school department in town.

At the beginning of the year, the proposed budget was $8.8 million in the red because the state required that the council and the school department contribute $8.4 million towards the pensions and Other Post Employment Benefits (OPEB) for fiscal year 2014 — and $7.7 million each year after that.